Category: Analysis

Nucor’s weekly spot price for hot-rolled (HR) coil will remain at $750 per short ton (st) for a fifth week.

The US drill rig count increased by seven this week, while the Canadian count dropped by 11, according to the latest data from Baker Hughes.

SMU’s Current Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Index slipped this week, while Future Sentiment remained flat, according to our most recent survey data.

Highlights from the aluminum industry this week

The president-elect has wasted no time in using the threat of tariffs to reopen negotiations and, ideally, score other political wins along the way.

Never have I been more certain in declaring that those in the steel industry are less certain now than they thought they’d be at this point before the election.

Production times are marginally higher than those seen in recent weeks, now closer to levels witnessed throughout October.

A high percentage of the steel buyers we polled this week continue to respond that mills are open to price negotiation for new spot orders. Rates have been high for the majority of the year.

This week, the spread between SMU's hot rolled and galvanized indices is only a few dollars away from a 16-month low.

The BRICS countries of Brazil, Russia, India, and China, and South Africa met last month, along with several other associated nations. Among the topics discussed was the potential establishment of an alternative world currency to compete with the US dollar.

President-elect Donald Trump announced that Peter Navarro will serve as his senior counselor for trade and manufacturing.

“Trump took to Twitter.” That was a familiar story lead in Trump 1.0. Now it’s “Trump took to Truth Social (or X)." The latest example: President-elect Donald Trump on Monday evening said he was “totally against” U.S. Steel being acquired by Nippon Steel in a post on Truth Social.

Steel sheet prices remain at or near multi-month lows, while plate prices continue edging lower from their mid-2022 peak.

SMU’s Monthly Review provides a summary of important steel market metrics for the previous month. Our latest report includes data updated through November 30th.

After a career in steel spanning four decades, Chuck Schmitt, head of SSAB Americas, will retire next year.

Cleveland-Cliffs has officially had spot HRC prices at $750/st since mid-September.

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated attorney and US Air Force Veteran Jamieson Greer to be the next US Trade Representative (USTR).

And so it begins (again). Not to be outdone by Thanksgiving, President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to impose tariffs of 25% on all imports from Canada and Mexico. He also threatened to hit all imports from China with tariffs of 10% - an amount that would come on top of a boatload of pre-existing duties and tariffs.

SMU's price indices saw minor fluctuations on sheet products this week, while our plate and Galvalume indices held steady.

On Monday, Nucor published new extras effective Jan, 4, 2025.

The slowdown in North American zinc demand in recent months has played out across all sectors, and CRU now expects it to contract by 3.7% y/y.

Prices were stable to down in November for all seven steelmaking raw materials tracked by SMU, according to our latest analysis.

“We’ll always have Paris,” as the famous line in Casablanca goes. And this month, the global steel industry did as well. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Steel Committee met in the City of Lights earlier this month. There was also a meeting of the Global Forum addressing excess steel capacity.

The OECD Steel Committee convened its 96th session last week in Paris, along with the Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity. The event brought together 250 government and industry delegates from 40 of the largest steel-producing countries. The Committee’s discussions and presentations were clear: Steel markets worldwide are in dire straits.

SMU’s latest steel buyers market survey results are now available on our website to all premium members. After logging in at steelmarketupdate.com, visit the pricing and analysis tab and look under the “survey results” section for “latest survey results.” Past survey results are also available under that selection. If you need help accessing the survey results, or if […]

Following months of fluctuations, SMU’s Steel Buyers’ Sentiment Indices rebounded this week, now at multi-month highs. Both of our Indices remain in positive territory and indicate that steel buyers are optimistic about the success of their businesses.

Metallurgical coal production at Metinvest’s Pokrovske Coal operations in eastern Ukraine has declined. But that’s more due to everyday mining challenges than the threat of the Russian army getting closer to the mines, according to the steelmaker and miner based in the city of Zaporizhzhia in southeast Ukraine.

Aluminum highlights for the week

It’s once again A Tale of Two Cities in the steel market. Some are almost euphoric about Trump’s victory. Others, some rather bearish, are more focused on the day-to-day market between now and Inauguration Day on Jan. 20.

Steel buyers participating in our market survey this week reported stable mill lead times for both sheet and plate steel products.